A Fight For Survival
by Umbra Snake
Summary: A girl that goes by Akemi is thrown into the world of Sword Art Online. Just like everyone else, she has to fight to survive.
1. Chapter 1

I walk inside to see my sister with her friend in the living room. "Is mom not home yet?" I ask.

"No," she says. "She has to finish work then she has to go shopping. So dinner will be done really late."

"Alright," I say. "Hello, Hiroko." She smiles at me.

"Hi," she says. I walk upstairs and into my room. I toss my bag next to my bed and get everything ready. Then hooking everything up and setting up the game.

I look around, absorbing my surroundings. _I missed this place so much…_ I start walking around, looking at everything and everyone. "Excuse me," a voice says. I turn around and see three boys standing there.

"Have you considered joining a guild?" one asks. I raise an eyebrow.

"The game just started so not really…" I say.

"Well, we could really use somebody like you," another says. "You'd be a great addition to our guild."

"I'm good," I say.

"Are you sure?" the first one asks. "We can protect you."

"I can handle myself," I say coldly. "I don't need your protection." I turn around and walk away from them. I can hear a girl laughing. I look to my right and see a girl standing by herself. She has long dark brown hair tied in a pony tail along with light brown eyes.

"Sorry you had to deal with them," she says. I shrug and she smiles. "I'm Tomo."

"Akemi," I say.

"Do you know your way around this game or know anybody who does?"

"I'm more of a solo player," I say. "I'm sure you'll find somebody who knows what they're doing."

"Want to practice with me?" she asks. I shake my head. "Oh come on! It's better than constantly being hit on by guys." I raise an eyebrow. "Please?" I cross my arms, not budging. "Akemi, I need somebody to talk to in this game!"

"Fine…" I mutter.

"Yes!" she yells. A bunch of people look at us. I lower my head and start looking at the ground. "Hey, wait up!"

I am standing to the side as Tomo tries to kill a Frenzy Boar but is failing. "This is more complicated than it seems…" she mumbles. "Do you want to try?" I shake my head. "You sure? It's good practice."

"They're too easy," I say.

"Wait… How would you know?" Tomo questions.

"The fact that they're on the first floor shows that they're probably a low level monster."

"Just try," she says. "You may want to practice."

"Just trust me," I say. "I know how to kill a monster."

"Were you a beta tester…?" she asks. I nod. "Really? Will you show me the ropes?" I cross my arms.

"You'll figure it out on your own," I say. The girl frowns. I close my eyes, sigh, then open them again and walk towards her. "Alright. I'll help you."

We're sitting on the ground watching the sunset. "Hey… Akemi," she says. I look at her. "Do you not have any friends in this?" I shake my head. "Same here. Of course, I have friends in real life but none of them play video games, at least the girls don't. My guy friends do but I'm not sure if they got this." I look at the sky. "What about you? Any of your friends get it?" I stay silent and she takes the hint to not pursue the topic. "It's amazing, isn't it? How real everything feels… Well, except we don't feel any pain." It goes silent.

Suddenly we hear a bell. Within seconds we're transported to the town square area. I look around to see tons of people. "What's going on?" I hear Tomo asks me.

"I don't know…" I say quietly. I look up at the sky to see a red bar. It suddenly covers the entire sky and looks almost like blood is dripping from it but then it forms the game master.

"Attention, players," he says. "Welcome to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko. As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world. I'm sure you've already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu. But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat… This is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online."

I look over at Tomo. They're no emotion on her face. It's like she's taking in every word he's saying but is still having trouble processing it. I look back at the game master. _Why is he doing this? What's the point?_

"You cannot log out of SAO yourselves," Akihiko says. "And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life." _I'll be okay. My family won't come get me for a couple of hours… Maybe they'll hear about it and not try to remove the NerveGear._ "Unfortunately, several players' friends and families have ignored this warning, and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world." _How have that many people died already? The game just started…_

As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting all of this, including deaths. Thus, you can assume that the danger Multiple Victims in Online Game Incident. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game. But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost. And simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain." My eyes widen by the news. "There is only one means of escape. To complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, Floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game."

I feel a hand wrap around my wrist. I look at Tomo. She seems terrified. I guess she has a right to be scared. This is no longer a silly game to play in your spare time. This is now life or death.

"Finally, I've added a present from me to your item storage," the game master says. "Please see for yourselves." I feel her let go of my wrist. I open my storage and see a mirror. I click on it and grab it mid air. Tomo and I look at each other in confusion.

Suddenly there are bright blue lights everywhere. I notice one is surrounding Tomo and within seconds the blue light is around me. It doesn't take long for it to disappear. I look around me and see unfamiliar faces.

"What the…" I hear Tomo say. I look to my right to see her appearance completely changed. She still has her original hair and eye color but her body and face changed. "You're… completely different now. What happened?"

"Wait… Do we look like our actual selves?" I question.

"I-I think so."

Right now, you're probably wondering, 'Why?'" he says. "Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do all this? My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason… To create this world and intervene in it. And now, it is complete. This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. Good luck, players." He disappears and everyone is left in shock. Suddenly shouts are coming from everywhere. Everyone is angry and isn't leaving the area.

I grab Tomo's wrist and pull her past the crowd with me. I'm not leaving her behind. I've played this game before, she hasn't. I have to help her. She may not be my friend but she's the only person I know in this game.

We're standing in an alley. "Alright, with a head start we should be able to get everything first," I say. I look at her. She's tapping her foot uncontrollably. "Hey… Are you alright?" She looks up at me.

"Yeah," she says quickly. "Just a bit anxious… I wasn't expecting this to happen."

"I don't think any of us were," I say. She nods. "You ready to go?"

"Y-Yeah. Let's go."

I nod and we run off, trying to get to the next town as quickly as possible.


	2. Chapter 2

I sit down on the bleachers next to Tomo. We're sitting at the top, away from everyone. We don't know them and they don't know us. Everyone is joking around with their groups of friends. It's clear they have no intention on getting to know us and I'm just fine with that.

I made Tomo promise that if we stay together it's just the two of us. She can befriend people but her friends can't join us. My limit is one "friend." She is the type to constantly talk to people, whether she knows them or not. I, on the other hand, don't like to talk to strangers. Tomo and I have an unspoken rule to not mention our real lives or say our true names. All that matters is who we are in this game.

"Okay, let's get started, people!" the guy on the stage yells. "Thank you for coming today. My name is Diabel. I like to consider my 'job' as Knight." Everyone starts laughing and making remarks.

"Today, our party found the boss room at the top of the tower," Diabel says. That's when everyone becomes interested. "We need to defeat the boss, reach the second floor, and tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game. Everyone present here shares this duty! Do you all agree?" They all start clapping. "Alright, then let us begin our planning. First, divide into parties of six." I feel my stomach drop at those words. I look around seeing everyone already forming parties. "An ordinary party has no chance against a floor boss. We'll need to form a raid group using multiple parties."

I look over at Tomo and she smiles at me. "Should we invite those two?" she asks. I look to my left and see two people by themselves.

"They'll be fine," I say. One girl is wearing a cloak, just like me. The guy suddenly scoots over to her. I look back at Tomo. "See? They'll have their own party." She shrugs then we pay attention too Diabel again.

"Okay, have you formed your parties?" Diabel says. "Then-"

"Just a second!" a voice yells. Some random guy jumps down the place and onto the stage. "My name's Kibaou. I wanna say something before we take on the boss. Some of you here need to apologize to the two thousand who have died so far!" He points at the crowd.

"Kibaou-san, are you referring to the beta testers?" Diabel asks.

"Of course I am!" Kibaou shouts. I roll my eyes. "On the day this stupid game started, the beta guys ditches us beginners, and they all disappeared." _Just because I did that doesn't mean I have to apologize for the deaths… Those aren't our fault._ "They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, so only they could get stronger. And then, they just ignored the rest of us. I'm sure someone here was in the beta! They should get on their knees and apologize, and give up all the items and money they've hoarded." _There's no way I'm giving everything up. I've worked hard for my items._ "Otherwise, we can't trust them to protect us as party members, and they shouldn't trust us!" I glare at Kibaou. He doesn't know me. I've been with Tomo since day one and I haven't betrayed her.

"May I speak?" a voice asks. "My name is Egil. Kibaou-san, tell me if I have this right. You're saying that because the beta testers didn't take care of them, many beginners died. That they should take responsibility, apologize, and provide compensation. Correct?"

"Y-yeah," Kibaou says.

"You got this guide book, didn't you?" Egil says. "It was provided for free at the item store."

"Sure, I did…" Kibaou says. "Why?"

"It was compiled from information given by the beta testers," Egil says. Everyone is in shock by the news. "Listen." Egil faces all of us. "Everyone had equal access to this information. And even still, many players died. I thought the topic of discussion here was what we could learn from their deaths, and how that can help us defeat the boss." He faces Kibaou again. Kibaou seems angry, but I enjoyed that. He storms off and sits on the bleachers while Egil follows.

"Alright," Diabel says. "Then, can we resume?" Nobody objects. "The latest edition of that guide book was just issued, and it contains information on the boss. According to it, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. He is guarded by assistants knows as Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He is armed with an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars, and when the last one enters the red, he switches to a curved sword-type weapon called a Talwar. His attack pattern changes, as well. This concludes the briefing. Lastly, items will be automatically distributed. EXP goes to the party that defeats the monster. And whoever receives an item keeps it. Any objections? Okay, we leave tomorrow at then in the morning. See you there!"

"Let's go," I say. I stand up and start walking away, I hear her jog up to me.

"Isn't this exciting?" she asks. "I mean, we finally get to fight a boss. Then, maybe we can create a strong guild."

"You know how I feel about guilds," I say quietly. We walk to a building and sit down. "You can join a guild. I prefer being by myself or just another person."

"Right… Sorry," Tomo says sadly. "I forgot." I stay quiet, watching everyone that passes by. "You ready for tomorrow?"

"Of course," I say.

The first couple of chapters she'll be following the same thing Kirito went through. After the boss she'll go a separate path and have her own story. Also, I'm still really new to this website so please be easy on me. I'm extremely confused everytime I use it.


End file.
